Page 53 - Spring 2015
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values on equality and diversity. It shows
your current staff as well as new recruits that
the company is serious about creating a fair
environment. It is also a clear statement of
what behaviour is expected and provides a
good guide for dealing with sensitive issues.
But to go even further, don’t just produce
the policy and file it away somewhere in the
Managing Directors office. Get it printed
and put up on notice boards. Give it to new
employees when they start and make sure that
everybody knows what is on it. Also, make sure
the policy is referred to in any training that is
given.
To get advice on how to draw up a policy, there
is a great guide on the ACAS site.
Put it into action
Once you have an equality policy, it is a
good idea to draw up an action plan. This
can include such things as regular diversity
training, monitoring, setting up internal clubs
or organisations or simply setting aside time
with the management team to discuss equality
issues. You could also hire a consultant to
come in and check your procedures once a
year. They can also help you with your plan
going forward. They can also recommend how
to internally benchmark the progress of various
parts of your operation.
Monitor regally
It is hard to know how well your policy and
action plan are working out unless you monitor
them. For a start, when new workers start, it
would be great to give them an opportunity
to volunteer information about themselves
so you can build up a picture of the different
strands of diversity you have working for you.
You can also monitor all staff once a year to
see how happy everybody is with the working
environment.
The results may bring up an issue, such as a
lack of ethnic diversity or an imbalance of
male to female staff. It might then be a good
idea to look at past recruitment and consider
changes, such as advertising for jobs in a
different media which is targeted at a more
specific readership, such as putting an advert in
LGBT magzines or Asian press or specifically
targeted websites.
Don’t hide from obvious issues
It is amazing how something can become
acceptable just because it has happened for
a long time. If the office culture is one in
which it is okay to joke about women doing
the housework or maybe using the word ‘gay’
in a negative way. It is important to make
sure these behaviours do not take root and
employees should feel it is safe for them to raise
concerns with management about such issues.
Just about meeting you responsibilities on
equality is all very well, but the benefit of
a good policy, action plan and monitoring
procedure is a happy and inclusive workforce.
Why just about make the grade when you can
excel?
For more information, check out
or
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